"It's just been a really trying time as an artist."

Nivea was all the rage in the early 2000s. Her quick rise was followed by a long disappearance from mainstream music. While the artist gears up to provide her fans new music, Nivea has taken some time to open up about her journey as a pop princess, from her early success and her romantic relationships to her fading from the public eye.

She recants parts of her young love story with Lil Wayne, who expressed his romantic interest by way of a musical collaboration.

"He lied. We got in the booth, he was like,' I lied, I just want your number. And we can do the song, but I just want your number.'"

"He proposed, I had a show in Rhode Island. He proposed in an elevator. I got the ring on in 'Laundromat' video and nobody noticed."

Nivea eventually met The Dream and developed a professional relationship that became romantic. When the pair tied the knot in 2004, the label found it difficult to promote her as a married woman with ties to the Hip Hop scene.

"I was told in the office, 'you're not f*ckable.' Nobody wanna f*ck you.'"

The singer briefly describes her going back to Wayne after dealing with The Dream. She hasn't been public about the messiness at the time out of respect for all of their careers.